Building



A. T. LEVY gan. 11, 1938'.

BUILDING 5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed April 29, 1936 A. T. LEVY Jan. 171,1938.

BUILDING Filed April 29, 1.956

5 Sheets-Sheet .2

,47- @QP/Vey A. T. LEVY Jan. 11, 1938.

BUILDING 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 29, 1936 Patented Jan. 11, 1938UNITED sTATEs PATENT QFFECE 26 Claims.

This invention relates to buildings and more particularly toprefabricated buildings of the general type described in my application,Serial No. 46,156, led October 22, 1935, and in my application, SerialNo. 54,429, filed December 14,

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a building formed ofrelatively simple prefabricated parts and combining the advantages ofcheapness, ease of erection, strength, durability,

and attractive appearance.

Another object which I have in view is to improve the building structuredescribed in my previous applications and to provide a structure inwhich the total number of parts is considerably reduced and in whichcertain parts are of simpler form and less expensive and of less weightand more easily assembled than heretofore, so that the cost of thebuilding is reduced while at the 2O same time its erection isfacilitated and made more rapid.

Another object is to provide a building of the 4 type in whichprefabricated panels are set in and positioned by and betweenlower andupper plate members, in which the upper plate member canv be of simple,inexpensive form by reason of the reduction of the load imposed thereon,and in which the roof rafters and ceiling joists are of a minimum numberand so arranged that they are 30 supported in an effective mannerdirectly from the studs without the need of support from the panelpositioning portions of the upper plate member.

A further object is to provide an improved upper plate structure andimproved roof. and ceiling supporting structure associated therewith inan improved manner.

These and other objects of the invention will, however, appear moreclearly hereinafter, or will 40 be obvious to those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown an illustrativeembodiment of my invention,

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section, and

45 in part broken away, of the corner portion of a building, such as asmall dwelling, embodying my improvements Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe building shown 1, broken away in order to illustrate the 5oarrangement of the roof rafters and ceiling joists;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View with some parts broken away and with someparts omitted, illustrating the structure of the building at a corner 55thereof at an intermediate stage of its erection;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-15 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows on a larger scale certain parts shown in Fig. 4, some ofthe parts being indicated in dotted lines, and

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the upper end portion of. acorner stud and the portion of the upper plate member supported thereby,illustrating the manner in which the parts are assembled.

In the drawings I have shown my improvements applied to a building suchas a small dwelling of the bungalow type having a -hip roof and in whichwall panels of the type disclosed in my previously mentionedapplications are set in apertures formed by the lower and upper platemembers and by the stud members. In the drawings, the foundation isshown at A, the outer wall at B, the roof at C, the lower plate at D andthe upper plate at E. As described in my previous applications, the wallpanels and the studs are covered on the outside by a layer ofcementitious material such as stucco, and on theA inside by a layer ofcementitious material such as plaster.

`The structure of the foundation A, the lower plate D and the supportfor the oor F is essentially the same as described in my application,Serial No. 54,429, and the structure of the corner stud G, the ordinarywall studs I-I and the panels I are also as described in saidapplication.

Each of the panels I preferably comprises as heretofore a board IU ofcompressed wood ber or like thermal insulating material having appliedto each face thereof a series of longitudinal reenforcing and lockingrods I I in contact with the board face. These rods serve to space fromthe board, sheets I2 of coating anchoring material or metal lath whichmay, as herein shown, be formed of woven wire. If desired, expandedmetal may be used or some other form of reticulated material. The sheetsI2 and the rods II are fastened to the board means such as wire loops I3arranged at suitable intervals in the length of the rods and passingthrough suitable perforations in the board. The arrangement is such thatthe rods I I, lying against opposite faces of the board and firmlysecured thereto, considerably increase the resistance of the panel tobuckling strains and also space the anchoring sheets from the boardfaces. After the fastening wires have been placed in position, the endsof the wires are twisted together as shown at I4, so as to tightly clampthe rods against the board and the anchoring sheets against the rods.The ends of the rods, located I Il by appropriate adjacent the upper andlower edges of the panel, project slightly beyond the edges of the boardso as to act as locking means as hereinafter described. The sheets I2are preferably substantially coextensive in length with the board butare of greater width than the board so as to project beyond the same atthe lateral edges thereof.. The lateral edge portions of adjacent sheetsare adapted to overlap the stud members positioned adjacent the lateraledges of the board and to overlap each other, asV shown in Fig. 3, wherethe overlapping portions of the sheets of adjacent panels are shown atl5A-` This structure is employed at the inner face of the wall as wellas at the outer face.

The foundation A, as heretofore, is preferably made of concrete, and tothe upper face of the foundation wall the metallic lower plate member Dis applied. At a side of the building this lower plate member comprisesa relatively wide plate portion or flange I6 suitably secured to thefoundation as by bolting it thereto, and it also corn-Y 'and suitablyinterconnected as by Welding. The

` studs have their lower ends in engagement with the upper face of themember VI6 andare secured to said member by suitable means such as angleplates I8. The channels of the studs H receive and position the sideedges of the panel boards and extend within the projecting lateral edgesof the coating anchoring sheets. The inner ange portions of the studmembers are in outwardly spaced relation to the upstanding flange l1 ofthe lower plate member and are secured to said ange by double anglemembers I9. In the case illustrated, the floor beams 20 extend from oneside of the building to the other and each end of a oor beam ispositioned adjacent the upstanding portion il of the lower plate memberand is fastened thereto by suitable means such as angleplates 2 l.

of the lower plate member and studs is generally similar to thatpreviously described, but in this case, the lower plate member isprovided with an upstanding portion Il having an inwardly directed ange22 at the upper part thereof, adapted to support the end portions ofboards of a wooden floor F, which extend acrossv and is supported by thefloor beams 20. In Fig. 3, I have shown only one of the floor beams,but, it will be understood that at .what is, invthis particularinstance, the side of the building, the floor beams will be spaced so asto be in alignment with the studs and will be suitably fastened to theupstanding member or ange I1 in the manner previously described. At whatis, in this instance, the side wall at the end of the building, thestuds are secured to the upstanding member or' iiange El" by means ofdouble angle members I9.

llmne corner stud G is preferably composed as heretofore of threeinterconnected channel members 23, 2d and 25,Y the members 23 and 2dbeing adapted 'to receive the edges of panel boards arranged at rightangles to each other, and the member 25 being a relatively shallowchannel member set in at the corner and arranged back to back with themember 24. At the corner of the building, in proximity'to but spacedoutwardly from member 25, is a corner rod 26 positioned at its lower endin a perforation 26 in the lower plate member and positioned at itsupper end in the upper plate member in a manner to be hereinafterdescribed. This corner rod serves as a coating anchoring means and isadapted to support the extended Vside portions of the reticulated outersheets l2 at the corner of the building in the manner described in myapplication, Serial No. 54,429. The lower end of channel member 23 issecured to the lower plate member by an angle plate 2l' and the lowerend of member 24 is secured to the lower plate member by an angle plate28.

Referring more particularly to my improved construction, the upper platemember is preferably constituted by a flat web or plate lying in ahorizontal plane and adapted to receive and hold the upper protrudingendsof the locking members I l of the panels. According to my invention,the upper plate member should be and is of such nature and form as toprovide ample resistance to lateral stress in order that the panels maybe firmly supported against lateral dislocation at their upper ends, butas hereinafter explained, it is not necessary for the plate member tosustain any considerable downward stress and, therefore, a thin memberof the nature above indicated may be successfully used. In the formshown in the drawings, the upper plate member E consists of sections ofthin plate 29 supported on the studs of the building and having innerand outer series of perforations 30 which receive the upper protrudingends of the locking rods Il in order to interlock the panels with theupper plate member. `Intermediate of its ends, each section or platerests at intervals onthe tops of the studs. At the upper ends of thestuds H, rectangular plates or pads 3! are welded to the channels of thestuds, and on these plates or pads the ribbonlike plate member rests soas to be supported thereby. At the corner of the building, an angularplate or pad 32 is welded to the upper end of the corner stud as shownin Figure 6, and upon Vthis plate 32 the contiguous ends of adjacentplate sections are supported. As shown in Figurer 6, one end of oneplate section is abutted against the end of another plate section at theside of the latter, and these plate'sections are Supported on the angleplaterSZ in that relation.

In the structure shown herein, which has a hip roof, the sloping roofrafters 33 at the sides and ends of the building are in alignment withand supported by the studs at the sides and ends of the building, saidrafters resting on the sha.- low plate member at points where the latteris supported from beneath by the studs. At the corners of the buildingthe hip rafters 3d rest on the plate member in locations where Vthelatter is supported from beneath by the corner studs G. The ceilingjoists 35, which in this instance extend to the sides of the building,are supported by the studs H, resting on the plate member in locationswhere the latter is supported from beneath by the studs H. As shown inFig. 3, the ceiling joists 35 and the rafters 33 are arranged inabutting relation to each other so that the web of each U-shaped ceilingjoist lies against one side of a rafter at the end of the rafter, andboth the 'rafter and the ceiling joist are located over a stud plate orpad 3|, with a portion of the plate member intervening, The ceilingjoists and rafters are interconnected by suitable means such as bolts35, and each joist 35, plate member 29 and pad 30 are interconnected bysuitable means such as bolts 31. Each hip rafter is secured in placeabove and in line with the corner stud by suitable means such as angleplates 38 having bolts 39 passing through the rafter. The lower legs ofangle plates 38 are secured to the plate member by bolts 40, certain ofwhich pass downward through perforations in the pad 32 of the cornerstud. The rafters 33 at the end of the building rest at their ends onthe plate member at portions thereof Vdirectly above and in line withthe upper ends of the studs and are secured in position by angle plates4|. Each of these angle plates 4l has a leg positioned against the platemember and a leg positioned against the side face of the rafter, and theangle plates are fastened to the rafters by means such as bolts 42 andto the plate member by means such as bolt 112, certain of the latterbolts passing downwardly through the plate or pad 3| on the upper end ofthe stud. Various changes may be made in the provisions for securing therafters and ceiling joists in position, those described being merely byway of example. It is preferable, however, to utilize a structure suchas herein described in which the ends of the studs are provided withpads on which sections of the plate rest and to which they are secured,the roof rafters and ceiling joists resting on the plate member only inlocations where the latter is supported from beneath by the studs.

The corner rod 26, previously mentioned, is held in position at itsupper end by suitable means which, in the case illustrated, comprises aperforation M in the plate or pad 32 and a registering perforation 45 inthe plate member 25.

In forming the ceilings of the building, the wall plate member isutilized to support suitable metal lath which may comprise woven Wirethat receives and holds the plaster. material is also supported by theceiling joists 35. In the example shown, the plate member 29 is providedadjacent its inner edge with a'longitudinally disposed series of smallperforations 45 adapted to be engaged by suitable fasteners 4l such aswire loops which support sheets 48 of woven wire or other suitableanchoring material to which the plaster of the ceiling is applied. Asshown more particularly in Fig. 5. the wire of which the fastener 47 isformed may be passed through a perforation 46 and through openings ofthe reticulated sheet and the ends of the wire twisted together to forma supporting loop for the sheet, which attaches it to the plate member,but other types of fastening means may be used if desired. The ceilingjoists 35 are also provided in their lower flanges with longitudinallyspaced perforations 49, which may be engaged by fasteners 47, such asabove described, or other suitable fasteners which engage thereticulated material in order to support it from the ceiling joists.

lt will be noted that the wall studs are rather widely spaced from eachother and that there are no rafters set in between those having theirlower ends situated directly over the stud H. For this reason, there areapplied to the rafters, wooden roofers 58 which are somewhat heavier andstronger than those ordinarily used in a building of this type, in orderthat the roof structure may be very strong and rigid notwithstanding thesmall number of rafters employed. To the roofers 50 a suitable outercovering is applied,

This reticulated for example, shingles 5l. A suitable ground board 52 isapplied to the rafters at their outer ends in the space between thepanel-formed outer wall and the roofers, the lower edge of this boardbeing extended downward so as to lie in front of the plate member 29, asshown more particularly in Fig. 5. The lower edge of this board ispreferably flush with the lower face of the plate member 29. Applied tothis board 52 is an outer board 53, and a molding 5t is extended fromthe outermost roofer to the front face of board 53. A small molding 55at the lower edge of board 53 covers the joint between the stucco orother cementitious material applied to the outer face of the wall, andthe ground board 52.

The outer coating of cementitious material, such as stucco, is shown at5S, and it will be understood that this is applied to the outeranchoring sheets l2 carried by the panels and eX- tending over thestuds. The inner coating oi cementitious material, such as plaster,applied to the inner sheets l 2 of the building walls, is shown at 57.The body of cementitious material, such as plaster, used in forming theceilings, is shown at 58, and, as usual, this is integrally joined withthe inner coating of the side walls.

A portion of the ceiling lath is shown in Fig. 3, and it will be note-dthat sheets of this material are employed which are usuallysubstantially cocxtensive in width with the spaces between the ceilingjoists. As shown in Fig. 3, a sheet 58 of metal lath is secured toangularly related plate member sections of the outer wall while saidsheet is also attached to one of the ceiling joists 35 by means of theperforations 49 in said joist in the manner described.

It will be noted that as in my prior applications, the building isformed of parts of simple character which may be easily andinexpensively manufactured and easily transported to the building site.The wall panels are also of relatively light weight, and while they areof such length that they extend substantially from the foundation to theroof line, they can be readily handled and assembled. They providethermal insulation and are equipped with means whereby they can bereadily interlocked with the plate members, and they are also providedwith effective means for anchoring the coatings of plastic materialwhich are to be applied to the outer and inner surfaces of the walls. Itwill be observed in particular that the plate members are of very simpleand improved hat form and are of light weight and can be readily handledand assembled. It will also be noted that by my improvements the numberof parts employed in the building is considerably reduced. The studmembers are reduced to a minimum number, and the roof rafters andceiling joists are reduced to a minimum number, being used only in thoselocations where wall studs are located. Preferably the distance betweenadjacent studs is of the order of four feet, and from this it will beseen that the total number of parts for a given building is quite smallin comparison to ordinary buildings. Among other things, a considerablenumber of roof rafters and joists are eliminated, it being unnecessaryto use plate supported rafters and joists between the studs such as areemployed in usual structures, and yet the structure is very strong andrigid. It will also be noted that not only the upper plate member butthe panels themselves are relieved of load imposed by the weight of theroof and the ceiling joists, and this aids in providing a simple,inexpensive and readily assembled structure. It is also noted that by myinvention, the ceilings can be provided in a very simple and expeditiousmanner. These and other advantages of my improved structure will bemanifest to those skilled in the art. f

Where in the claims, I refer to side of the building, it will beunderstood that unless otherwise indicated by the context the term isused in a broad sense soas to include what is in a strict sense an endof the structure.

While I have shown and described herein one embodiment which myinvention may assume in practice, it will be understood that manychanges may be made in the details of the structure herein described andmany modifications thereof adopted without departing from the principlesof my invention or lthe scope thereof as defined in the claims.

What I claim as'new and desire to secure by Letters kPatent is:

l. A building comprising a foundation, an outer wall, and a roof havingintermediate the ends thereof a plurality of rafters extending to a sideof the building and widely spaced from each other, said outer wallincluding a plurality of stud members correspondingly located and spaced"from each other by the distance between said rafters and locatedbeneath and in alignment with said rafters to support all of the samedirectly.

2. A building comprising a foundation, an outer wall, a roof havingrafters extending to a side of the building and widely spaced from eachother rand heavy roofers interconnecting said rafters, said outer wallincluding stud members in alignment with and directly supporting con-ysecutive rafters and wall panels of story height in the intervalsbetween said stud members, and means free from roof load for positioningthe upper ends of said panels.

3. A building comprising a roof having widely spaced rafters and heavyroofers applied to and interconnecting saidrafters, a series of studs ata side of the building directly supporting consecutive rafters, wallpanels between said studs, and means extending between the upper `endsof adjacent studs and spacing said studs from each other and positioningsaid panels.

4. A building comprising a sloping roof having at a side thereof andintermediate its ends a plurality of widely spaced rafters,correspondingly located studs supporting consecutive rafters directlyfrom beneath, wall panels between said studs, and an upper plate memberhaving portions free from roof load against whichA said panels arevpositioned.

5. In a` building, a foundation wall at a side of the building, a roofhaving rafters whose ends are located over said wall, ceiling jois-tshaving ends located over said wall, studs supported by said wall anddirectly supporting said rafters and ceiling joists, a light upper platemember having portions in the intervals between said studs free fromroof and ceiling joist load, and wall panels between said studspositioned against inward and outward displacement by said portions ofsaid plate member.

6. A building comprising a foundation wall, widely spaced stud membersextending upwardly therefrom and having channels to receive the sideedges of adjacent panels, a roof having widely spaced sloping raftersextending to a side of the building and all of which have their weightcarried directly by stud members, a plate member extending across theupper ends of said stud members and free from roof load in the intervalsbetween said members, wall panels of story height between the studmembers in engagement with the channels thereof, and means carried bysaid panels and forming parts thereof whereby said panels are positionedrelatively to said plate member.

7. A building comprising a foundation wall, Widely spaced stud membersextending upwardly therefrom, a roof having widely spaced rafters at oneside all of which have their weight carried directly by stud members, aceiling having widely spaced joists all of which have their weightcarried directly by stud members, a member spacing apart the upper endsof said stud members, and wall panels of story height between the studmembers having their upper ends beneath and positioned by said spacingmember.

8. A building comprising a foundation, a wall supported thereonincluding a plurality of stud members intermediate the ends thereof andpanel members between said studs, a roof whose load is imposed directlyon said stud members, and means substantially free from roof loadinterconnecting said stud members at the upper ends thereof andpositioning said panels.

9. A building comprising a foundation, a wall supported thereonincluding stud members and panel members, a roof whose load is imposeddirectly on said stud members, and a lightweight metal upper platemember free from roof load interconnecting said stud members andpositioning said panels in the intervals between said stud members.

l0. In a building, the combination of a foundation, a side wallsupported on the foundation, a roof having intermediate the ends thereofa plurality of widely spaced rafters, said wall including a plate andcooperating stud members corresponding in number to the rafters at thatside of the buildingand respectively supporting Said rafters directly,and wall panels set in the spaces between said stud members.

ll. In a building, a foundation, a wall supported thereon including studmembers and panel members, a roof whose load is imposed directly on saidstud members, a ceiling whose load is imposed Ydirectly on said studmembers, and a light upper plate member having portions in the intervalsbetween said studs which position said panel members.

12. In a building, a foundation, a side wall supported on the foundationand including studs and panels of story height set in the spaces betweensaid studs, a roof having rafters extending to said wall withconsecutive rafters supported directly by said studs, and a plate memberof relatively thin metal which overlies Vthe upper edges of said panelsand positions the same against inward and outward displacement.

13. In a building, a foundation wall, a roof having rafters, studsupstanding from said foundation wall and located directly beneath and inalignment with said roof rafters in position to .carry substantially theentire roof load, an upper plate member positioning said studs at theirupper ends having portions between said studs free from roof load andwith said studs and foundation wall forming a plurality of panelopenings, and non-load-sustaining wall panels forming closures for saidopenings.

14. In a building, a foundation wall, a side wall erected onsaidfoundation wall comprising a load sustaining frame defining panelopenings and non-load bearing panels forming closures for said openings,said frame including load bearing studs upstanding from said foundationwall at each side of said panel openings and connected to said side wallat their upper ends against lateral displacement, and a roof havingrafters extending to said side wall and widely spaced from each otherhaving connections to said side wall overlying said studs and spaced bythe distance between said studs.

15. In a building, a foundation wall, a side wall erected on saidfoundation wall comprising a load sustaining frame defining panelopenings and non-load bearing panels forming closures for said openings,said frame including load bearing studs upstanding from said foundationwall at each side of said panel openings and connected to said side Wallat their upper ends against lateral displacement, and a roof havingrafters extending to said side wall and Widely spaced from each otherhaving connections to said side wall overlying said studs and spaced bythe distance between said studs, one of said studs being a corner studand having adjacent side wall studs on opposite sides thereof, andcertain of said rafters adjacent said corner being angularly related.

16. In a building, a foundation wall, angularly related side and endwalls erected on said foundation wall, each having a load sustainingfra-me including studs defining panel openings and non-load bearingpanels forming closures for said openings, rafters supported on saidframe directly over said studs, and means connecting said side and endwalls at the junction of said walls and of said rafters.

17. In a building, a foundation wall, parallel side and angularlyrelated end walls erected on said foundation wall, each having a loadsustaining frame including studs defining panel openings and non-loadbearing panels forming closures for said openings, and a roof structurehaving rafters supported on said frame directly over said studs andmeans connecting said side and end walls including angularly relatedrafters supported on studs at the junctions of said side and end wallsand connected to the other rafters.

18. In a building, a stud having oppositely disposed channels, panelshaving their edges received in said channels, anchoring sheets appliedto the faces of said panels, a ribbon-like plate member extending acrossthe top of said stud, and means for fastening said panels to said platemember.

19. A building having a roof, studs located beneath the roof rafters andcarrying directly substantially the entire roof load, a ribbonlike upperplate member having means for preventing lateral displacement of wallpanel members, and wall panel members positioned by said plate member.

20. A building comprising a foundation, a roof having sloping rafters,studs located beneath the ends of the rafters, ceiling joists alongsidethe ends of the rafters above the studs, a ribbonlike plate memberextending across the tops of the studs and having portions in line withthe studs on which the rafters and ceiling joists rest, and wall panelsbetween said studs positioned by said plate members.

21. A building having a foundation wall, studs extending upwardlytherefrom, a roof having rafters supported directly over said studs, aplate member presenting a thin web having portions resting on the upperends of the studs and disposed between said upper ends and the rafters,said web being provided in the intervals between the studs withlongitudinally spaced sockets, and wall panels set in between said studsand carrying locking projections engaging said sockets.

22. In a building, a frame having studs and an upper plate memberdefining a wall panel receiving space, and a panel in said space havinglocking rods applied to a face thereof and projecting beyond the upperedge of the panel body, said upper plate member being in the form of aribbon and having perforations engaged by said rods for locking thepanel to said member.

23. In a building, a frame having an upper plate member, and a pluralityof panels in said frame, said plate member having a longitudinal seriesof perforations for engaging panel locking members and also having meansat one side of said series of perforations for the attachment ofmetallic ceiling lath.

24. In a building, a frame having studs and an upper plate member,ceiling joists supported by said studs, panels between said studscarrying coating anchoring sheets, means for attaching said panels tosaid plate member, a coating applied to said sheets, said plate memberand said ceiling joists being provided with marginal perforations,anchoring material for a ceiling, means engaging said perforations forsupporting said material from said plate member and said ceiling joists,and a ceiling coating applied to said material.

25. In a building, an outer wall frame having studs and an upper platemember, a cooperating frame having studs and an upper plate member,ceiling joists supported by certain of said studs, panels between saidstuds, and anchoring material for a ceiling coating attached to andsupported by both said plate members and said ceiling joists.

26. In a building, a wall frame comprising studs and a ribbonlike upperplate member eX- tending across said studs and resting at intervals onthe tops thereof, panels between said studs positioned by said platemember against inward and outward displacement, a roof having slopingrafters resting at their ends on said plate member at points directlyabove studs, ceiling joists resting at their ends on said plate memberat points directly above studs, said plate member in the intervalsbetween said studs being free from roof and ceiling joist load, andceiling coating anchoring material attached to said plate member and tosaid joists, said material being attached to said plate member adjacentthe inner margin of the latter.

AUSTIN T. LEVY.

